Appraisal of cultural relics and antiques relies on a pair of ghost eyes. Scan a page and don't say whether you know the English words in it. At least you have to see every detail.
What ghost eyes mean is that once you catch the eye, all the details of a calligraphy and painting must be vividly visible and you must be attentive!
The competition in Liulichang's antique business is extremely cruel, and these great ministers may lose their entire fortune just by looking at it. Many times, the transaction of antique calligraphy and paintings may seem simple on the surface, but behind it are decades of accumulated experience.
If you don’t see tens of thousands of authentic works, and if you don’t absorb every detail in every corner, and digest it in your heart, you won’t be able to develop the ability of ghost eyes!
Recording such a few English words and pen sketches is really not a problem for people who play antiques!
One hand on the left flipped the parchment, and the other hand quickly copied on the draft paper. The handwriting was only for speed but not for beauty. He was scrambling for time. He wanted to copy as many secrets as possible before the British came back.
Winter is coming! The one on the left side was actually sweating profusely from the nervous forehead, and the hand holding the pen was shaking a little!
"Hurry up...Mr. Zuo, hurry up...put it down immediately, the British are back..."
"Stop copying, one of Samuel's assistants is back..."
The first-class soldier was hiding in the shelter of the sand dunes, looking around as vigilantly as a hunting fox. When he saw a big British nose coming from the direction of the Buddhist Scripture Cave, he immediately whispered to the left.
The left side was also anxious, "No... I want to continue copying... As long as Samuel doesn't come back, I won't leave..."
"Ouch..." Private First Class Xiao Liu was also anxious, "How can this be done? If the British find out, there will be a diplomatic dispute!"
"Shit! They stole our murals and I haven't settled the accounts with him yet. Now you dare to argue with me? It's okay. This assistant may not be here to get the notebook!"
"Samuel hides his personal notes as if they are his lifeblood, and he won't lie to others!"
The atmosphere was extremely tense, and Private First Class Xiao Liu was mentally prepared to attract the attention of the British outside!
How should we lure him away? Pretend to be drunk and fight with him? Or should I expose myself and steal the British people's cash? Anyway, no matter what, as long as this British assistant dares to get close to the material tent, he must be held back!
Having made up his mind, Private First Class Xiao Liu stole two bottles of whiskey from the British supply warehouse and took a big sip. As long as the assistant came near, he would pretend to run away.
A soldier who steals alcohol won't make them suspicious, right?
Getting closer, getting closer, Xiao Liu's nervous palms were sweating, and the left side of the tent was copying like crazy, and the pen in his right hand was flying like it was writing in cursive script that only he knew.
Fortunately, this trip to Europe gave him a certain foundation in English, otherwise he would not have been able to complete this task!
It seemed that luck was still on the side of the host. The assistant just walked into his tent and came back after a while holding a lot of archaeological tools!
Xiao Liu took a deep breath and made a safe gesture to the left side. He didn't know if the left side could see it!
In fact, King Shangtai over at the Sutra Cave also had a mission. His purpose was to hold Samuel and others back as much as possible, while conducting negotiations and seducing them with the newly brought out ancient books.
Samuel and other British people couldn't care less about their home being raided. Now all their thoughts are focused on the Bible Cave!
After copying on the left for an hour and a half, he realized that Samuel's figure had gradually come over. Xiao Liu knew that he couldn't leave this time, so he rushed into the tent in a hurry, grabbed the notebook, and the other He dragged his left collar with his hand and walked back.
"Let's go quickly, we can't delay any longer... we must retreat..."
"Let me go, let me go! I only copied a third of it... there are many more, many more!" Xiao Liu on the left was holding his collar and staggering away.
At the most critical moment, special soldier Xiao Liu put the notebook back to its original location, and Zuo also sneaked into an inconspicuous migrant workers' shack.
That's right, the expedition team is surrounded by hundreds of shacks where migrant workers from Dunhuang County stay. Due to the high wages paid by the expedition team, these migrant workers don't even bother to celebrate the New Year. They build shacks here one by one, and gradually a small village is formed. It looks like a small natural village.
Zuo Zuo knows that as long as funds continue to be invested in Dunhuang research, these people will have continuous jobs, and with jobs they can support their families, then this slum area will most likely evolve into villages and towns.
There's enough chaos here to hide!
Hiding in the migrant workers' shack, he began to sort out the notes by the dim light of the oil lamp. Although it was only a third of the notes, he also found a lot of interesting information.
A quarter of an hour later, King Shang Tai and the translator from the CIA also arrived. A total of three people gathered in the shack and began to systematically steal Samuel Baker's research results.
"What a great harvest... Look, the temple of the Bamiyan Buddha once contained the relics of Sakyamuni Buddha, as well as countless Buddha treasures!"
"The locations were all mapped out, but he just didn't have time to take them out and had to continue on his way, so he sealed them on the spot..."
"Record it, and our spies will go and dig it up!"
"Here... he also roughly confirmed an imperial-level tomb in ancient Persia... This guy is really smart. He found it through local legends and some historical documents from surrounding countries..."
"The approximate area he drew on the map with a pen was his judgment of the location of the Persian emperor's tomb..."
"Smart man, this Samuel looks annoying, but I have to admire him for being capable!"
Although colleagues are enemies, colleagues will also cherish each other!
Only peers can understand that their opponents are capable. Those who are trying to fix the problem may not be able to understand who is an expert and who is a layman in the art of repairing spectacle lenses!
In the same way, people who play antiques can't understand how the standards for lathe work are determined. Why do some people earn one silver dollar a day, but you earn one every three days.
The more you read Samuel's notes, the more thrilling they become. At the beginning, there are treasure maps, imperial tombs, local customs and customs... and at the end, the practical information finally appears!
"This Samuel is really a spy! He is recording the military situation and mountains and rivers of all the countries along the way!"
"He has recorded the inside stories of garrisons, fortresses, weapons and equipment, and rulers in various places!"
"Look...there are also records about General Rongquan of Yili...this guy actually drew the garrison map of the Qing army in Tacheng!"
The person on the left looked proud, "Look, look... what am I talking about... this guy is not a good guy!"
At this moment, one of the translators under King Shang Tai suddenly looked as if he had seen a ghost. The page in his hand began to shake, and his hands shook like chaff.
"Day...day!"
"This is not just a spy, this is not a human being!"
